India spreads misinformation about Pakistani cricketer Natalia Pervaiz, who plays in Azad Kashmir.

Sana Mir, a Pakistani pundit and former captain, identified national batter Natalia Pervaiz as a player from Azad Jammu and Kashmir during commentary, sparking a new controversy at the current ICC Women’s World Cup.

Indian media outlets were outraged by the comment, which was uttered during Pakistan’s match versus Bangladesh in Colombo. Many broadcasters called for disciplinary action.

Mention of Azad Kashmir causes Indian retaliation
Sana Mir, who was providing commentary for the ICC, introduced Natalia Pervaiz of Pakistan by emphasizing her Azad Kashmiri heritage. In India, the video went viral very fast, and the majority of mainstream outlets and commentators politicized it.

The simple reference to “Azad Kashmir” was viewed as a potentially explosive moment by many Indian anchors. Several accused Mir of “politicizing” cricket and called for the ICC to take action against her.

Natalia Pervaiz’s history
A gifted batter from Azad Kashmir’s Bandala Valley in the Bhimber district is Natalia Pervaiz. She has played international matches for Pakistan with pride in a number of different nations.

As she subsequently explained, Sana Mir wanted to draw attention to Pervaiz’s journey and the difficulties she encountered as she made her way from her hometown to the international scene.

Sana Mir reacts to misinformation
Sana Mir expressed her displeasure with the politicization of her remarks in a message posted on X (previously Twitter) amid the escalating dispute.

“We are supposed to concentrate on the sport, teams, and players as World Feed commentators. Part of the narrative is mentioning the players’ native regions. My comment was meant to draw attention to a player’s path and challenges. Please refrain from painting everything in a political hue.

Mir urged detractors not to place needless pressure on athletes, saying it was “sad” to even make a public apology for something so ordinary.

The Azad Kashmir reference is removed from the website.
A cricket website that had mentioned Natalia Pervaiz’s roots as “Azad Kashmir” subtly took the remark down after the controversy. On social media, Sana Mir posted a screen grab of the original page, which made it obvious that Pervaiz was part of Azad Kashmir.

Further criticism of how sports and sportsmen are sometimes drawn into geopolitical problems has been fueled by this abrupt edit, which was made in the wake of the Indian media uproar.